What will happen when my computer runs out of virtual memory?

Question

I'm getting a message saying my virtual memory is too low. Will my computer crash without it?

Answer 1

Yes it can or at least be very sluggish, because there will be no "cachable memory" to support the software that is running. You can increase the VM amount by going to "My Computer", right clicking and going to properties. In the Advanced tab you can increase the page file system.



You may want to reduce the number of applications/software you have running. Or, if you have done it for a while, restart your system (Start | Restart)

Answer 2

Your machine will run very slowly.

You can increase the size of your virtual memory by going into Control Panel, System, Advanced System Settings, Advanced, Performance, Advanced.

There should be an option for Virtual Memory Page Size.

The virtual memory is just a huge file on the hard disk where Windows puts things that it doesn't need at the moment if there is no room in the machine's physical memory.



Provided you have enough disk space then you can increase the size of this file. It should in any case be at the very least the same size as the amount of RAM you have installed.

Answer 3

The best way is to download Ccleaner here http://bitly.com/UrALrK



Or you can go on Windows operating system locate the command prompt and go there to do the following:

Create a Recovery file of system and date it today.



Then begin by;

delete the 'Temp' folders..they have hidden subfolders so you need to set the attributes in order to bypass this. For each subfolder delete all cookies and rubbish left behnd after install-uninstalled programs. Do a 'dir' command to check your progress. Make sure the 'Temp' file is empty.



goto c:\windows\prefetch and delete everything in there..no exceptions



goto c:\windows folder and delete all the '$' files that have been installed by updates. They can all be succesfully deleted and just take up disk space.



Locate the Internet Temporary Files..Check to see how high the saving level is..some have it set at 30 days..but that stores faaaar tooo much data..though it slows down the system overal. Keep this to a minimum..suggest 2 or 5 at most.



Delete all 'cookies' all those you don't need.



Locate the windows directory and go through the folders you know and those you don't need. Check this once a week at least. Some programs will install under XP as NT and older systems where there is no check of systems weight.



Check to see that system files have not changed since last booting. Things like .ini files or .bat are important items.





Check for 'Hidden Directories' all over the disk...do this at the command prompt:



dir *.* /ah wil show these hidden directories



Check the 'dir' command for all parameters

Answer 4

Yes. Probably.



But you've got bigger problems.



There are two main types of memory on your computer (actually 3, but i'm simplifying), physical RAM and "Virtual RAM."



Physical RAM is the memory that comes on chips that you have to buy and install in your computer. While Virtual RAM (aka, Virtual Memory, Swap, Pagefile, etc) is part of your hard drive (the storage part of your computer) that's allocated for use if you run out of physical RAM.



Your hard drive is FAR slower (like, 1000 times slower) than physical RAM. So using it as physical RAM will slow down your computer considerably. But if you're out of physical RAM, your computer must use virtual RAM or start closing programs. There's no other option.



If you're low on virtual memory, that means that, not only have you run out of physical RAM, but you're running low on hard drive space, too. So you need to do a couple things:



1: Buy more physical RAM if possible.

If you go to http://www.crucial.com/ there is a tool that will help you determine if you can put more physical RAM in your computer and what kind you need to get. RAM is pretty cheap, and you can install it yourself. So you can probably do an upgrade for $30-100 (depending on what kind of RAM you need and how much you buy).



2: Clean your computer.

Run a virus scan and malware scan. Get rid of any programs you don't use (especially programs running all the time). Get rid of files you don't need to free up hard drive space. If necessary, but a second hard drive and move stuff to it to free up space on your primary drive.



That should take care of your problems.

Answer 5

Hey there,

In my opinion Ccleaner is the number one tool for cleaning your pc. I've been using it for more then a year now and it works very well. You can grab your free copy here http://bit.ly/UrAuoK

It's a really nice software.

Good Bye

Answer 6

if you are having problems with virtual memory then I suggest you visit those two site below. You will get a lot more information.

Answer 7

it will just run very very very very very very very very slow and you sometimes cant open programs cuz there aint any ram left for it.